San Francisco’s Conspiracy of Beards is a 30 member male choir that performs dynamic, original, a cappella arrangements of the poetic songs of Leonard Cohen.

Well dressed in suits, ties, and the occasional fedora, the choir brings an energized live choral music experience out of churches and tabernacles and into the taverns, art houses, and theaters of the Bay Area and beyond. Transforming Cohen’s lyrics and simple melodies into complex 4- and 5-part harmonies, and with a wide variety of small ensemble and full choir pieces, Conspiracy of Beards achieves a sound that is both robust and tender. Drawing on influences ranging from jazz and gospel to barbershop and doo-wop, the unique arrangements that choir members create capture all of the emotion and humor of Leonard Cohen’s original music and inspire audiences to ponder common human experiences like romance, heartbreak, politics, sex, longing, and spirituality.

Formed in 2003 through the inspiration of the late San Francisco performance artist Peter Kadyk, his brother Patrick Kadyk, along with friend and composer Daryl Henline, gathered a small group of friends to learn and sing a couple of Leonard Cohen songs as a tribute. Since then the choir, still directed by Daryl Henline, has grown to over 30 members.

Conspiracy of Beards has become an integral part of the San Francisco music scene with performances at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, The Jewish Music Festival, Cafe Du Nord, Great American Music Hall, San Francisco City Hall, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, as well as dozens of bars, bookstores, galleries, hospices, and various other community centers. The choir has also been featured on several radio programs including NPR’s “West Coast Live,” “The California Report,” “Weekend Edition,” KQED, KFOG, KPFA, WFMU, and on PBS television.

As a non-profit organization (501c-3) and with a commitment to contributing to civic progress, Conspiracy of Beards also performs in support of many charities, fundraisers, and other non-profits.

Peter Kadyk

The concept of a men’s group singing Leonard Cohen songs came from Peter Kadyk, a multimedia artist who passed away in 2001. Kadyk, whom friends describe as a “visionary” artist, never got around to realizing his Cohen choir. But after his death, his wife, Anah, asked his brother Patrick and director Daryl Henline to organize the group as a tribute for an event in June 2003. Originally conceived as a one-time performance, comprised of 8 or 9 guys singing just 2 or 3 songs, the choir immediately gained a momentum and continued well past everyone’s expectations. After that first show, an employee of City Lights Bookstore asked the Beards to play an in-store event. Word of mouth spread fast, and the chorus quickly went from a one-time experiment to a practicing group within a few months. In the beginning, the members of the choir had all been friends with Peter Kadyk. But eventually newcomers were drawn to the Leonard Cohen project and the Beards became a bona fide singing group in its own right.

Performances

12 Galaxies

A.Muse Gallery

Adobe Bookstore

Amnesia

Angelicas

Anna’s Jazz Island (Berkeley)

Artist Television Access

Atlas Cafe

The Belrose Theatre

Bowery Poetry Club (Manhattan)

Box Theatre (Manhattan)

Brick & Mortar

Bruno’s

Cafe Du Nord

The Chapel

City Lights Bookstore

Clarion Alley Block Party

Cloud City (Manhattan)

Comet Tavern (Seattle)

Contemporary Jewish Museum

counterPULSE

The Dance Palace (Pt. Reyes)

DeYoung Museum

DROM (Manhattan)

Eagle Tavern

Echoplex, (Los Angeles)

Edinburgh Castle

El Valenciano

Freight & Salvage

Fellow Barber Shop

[ Freespace ]

Glasslands Gallery (Manhattan)

Great American Music Hall

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival

Henry Miller Library (Big Sur)

Henry Ohlhoff Recovery House

Heritage Hall (Vancouver)

Highline Ballroom (Manhattan)

The Independent

Jack Hanley Gallery

Jewish Community Center

The Jewish Music Festival

Johansson Projects Gallery (Oakland)

Kaiser Permanente Hospital

Kuumbwa Jazz (Santa Cruz)

The LAB

Laguna Honda Hospice

Live Worms Gallery

LoBot Gallery (Oakland)

The Make-Out Room

Marin Headlands Center for the Arts (Marin Co.)

The Mechanics’ Institute

McCoppin Hub

McNear’s Mystic Theatre

Mills College (Oakland)

Moes Books

The Mint (Los Angeles)

New Era Art Bar

The New Parish

Oakland Museum

Palo Alto Art Center

Project Artaud Theater

Public Works SF

The Riptide

The Rite Spot

San Francisco City Hall

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

San Francisco Zen Center

St. Cyprians Church

Saint Rocke (Hermosa Beach)

Southern Exposure

The Starry Plough (Berkeley)

Swedish American Hall

Throckmorton Theatre (Mill Valley)

Viracocha

The Vogue Theatre

as well as being featured on:

KALW

KFOG

KPFA

KWMR

KQED Spark

KQED’s The California Report

NPR’s Weekend Edition

NPR’s West Coast Live

WFMU (New Jersey)

and at numerous private events and various other locales too numerous to list (or even remember)